Image copyright EPA

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne on Thursday granted the appeals of Russian athletes, annulling the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on their life-long suspension from the Olympics.

The BBC Russian service tells how athletes, officials and journalists reacted to this decision.

International Olympic Committee

This could have a major impact on the future fight against doping. The IOC will therefore analyze the rationale for decisions very carefully as soon as they are available and consider the possible consequences - including the possibility of an appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal.

Regarding the participation of athletes from Russia in the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang 2018, the decision of the IOC Executive Board of December 5, 2017 remains in force. This suggests that since the Russian Olympic Committee has been suspended, Russian athletes will only be able to compete in PyeongChang at the invitation of the IOC.

Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption The CAS considered that the evidence collected in respect of the athletes was not sufficient to unambiguously speak of an anti-doping rule violation.

The decision of the Arbitration Court in Lausanne does not mean that 28 athletes will be invited to the Games. The fact that they are not under sanctions does not mean that they automatically receive the privilege of being invited to the Games.

It is also important to note that at the press conference, the Secretary General of CAS stated that the decision of the court "does not mean that 28 athletes are declared innocent."

Pavel Kolobkov, Minister of Sports of Russia

Now the Russian Olympic Committee will send a letter to the IOC with a proposal that they declare our athletes to participate in the Olympic Games. We will wait for the official decision of the IOC. (Interfax)

All athletes were acquitted in the case on charges of anti-doping rule violations during the Sochi Games. And the guys, and we are all glad that justice has finally prevailed.

The CAS board recognized that they were innocent and canceled the decisions of the Oswald Commission (IOC). Today's CAS decisions confirm that many of those accused are "clean athletes". (RIA News)

Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the President of Russia

We have repeatedly said that, of course, our athletes will continue to be supported through all possible channels in any steps that are aimed at upholding their rights.

The information received about the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport regarding our athletes confirms that vigorous actions to uphold the rights both in court and in other categories are justified, can be effective and must continue. And we hope that, of course, these actions will continue.

Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister of Russia

We never doubted that our athletes absolutely deservedly received all those medals that were won in Sochi. It is good that the court fully confirmed this, proved their purity.

This means that the athletes who filed suits are fully exonerated. And in relation to them, no prohibitive decisions are no longer valid, their biography is absolutely clean. And all those awards that they have acquired have been restored in their rights.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Skeletonist Alexander Tretyakov should now get his gold medal back

Everything (...) needs to be done as quickly as possible so that fully rehabilitated athletes can take advantage of all the opportunities that are open to them as a result of this court decision. (Interfax)

Vitaly Mutko, former Minister of Sports of Russia

Good news, but with bitterness. Frankly speaking, we did not expect such a decision, but nevertheless we proceeded from the fact that in all these hearings and commissions of Oswald, WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) there are such superficial accusations, hasty, without substantiation.

All this week the athletes proved their innocence. Doping is a fairly simple thing: there are samples, and all this talk and speculation should not be considered at all. As soon as some kind of consideration goes on a legal basis, then everything falls into place.

One can only express regret that WADA delegated all these processes to the commissions, Richard McLaren was absolutely unconvincing in this process.

Of course, we are very happy that 28 athletes were justified. We never doubted them. All of them have always been outstanding athletes for us, and we had no doubt that they won their podiums in a fair fight. And the president said that we were never going to leave them without support and help. (RIA News)

Mikhail Degtyarev, head of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs

We counted on positive decisions in court. The courts must always be filed, because silence means agreement with the decisions or accusations made. The next step should be lawsuits in civil courts in order to refute the false theses of the McLaren report and protect the honor and dignity of athletes and coaches.

Elena Vyalbe, President of the Russian Ski Racing Federation

When they learned the solution, even the gift of speech was lost. It is a pity that three are still not fully justified, but the disqualification is only for these Olympic Games. In general, we are just happy, I believed that sooner or later this would happen. (RIA News)

Olga Fatkulina, world champion in speed skating

Image copyright AFP/Getty Images

I earned a medal with my honest work. When I learned about today's decision, happiness did not decrease or increase. Everything was as it should be. It will be a victory if we are admitted to the Olympic Games. Let's wait now - how everything will be decided on admission. That's when we'll be happy. Now the state is already such that there are no emotions. We are waiting to see how everything will be according to the situation. (RIA News)

Artem Kuznetsov, speed skater

Of course, common sense prevailed, but many questions remain: what happened, why we were accused, and, I'm afraid, they will remain unanswered. It's a shame that we, most likely, will not go to the Olympics anyway, because there are no invitations yet, and it is not clear what will happen. (TASS)

Alexey Petukhov, skier

Image copyright Reuters

Having learned the decision, I just thought that justice has triumphed, there are higher powers and the truth is above all nasty things. Now let those who spoke badly about us think, let them be ashamed. And we came out victorious, it's great that the court heard us.

A little at a loss, I understand that everything is over, but the state is incomprehensible, twofold. It turns out that it is not clear with the Olympic Games, the IOC will certainly not allow it, and the list has been formed. But the fact that we will continue to prepare for the World Cup is a positive decision. With new forces in a new fight. (RIA News)

Alena Zavarzina, snowboarder

Nikita Kryukov, skier

I want to go to court, because the decision on disqualification affected me very strongly. My name, the name of the Olympic champion, was simply taken and dipped into the mud. I fully admit that this could make the fans doubt the purity of my results, my victories. I see no reason to tolerate it with impunity. Therefore, going to court seems to me a completely logical step.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne granted the appeals of 28 Russian athletes, but in general the decision did not cause great joy among them.

“I no longer have any emotions. This year I have had so many things that now I don’t have the strength to rejoice. Do I want to compete in the Olympics? Of course, but still, not everything depends on me, ”skeletonist Alexander Tretyakov commented to TASS on the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne (CAS), whose appeal was granted. He told RIA Novosti that he would go to the 2018 Olympics if the IOC sent him an invitation to participate in the Games.

The world champion in speed skating, Russian Olga Fatkulina, who was also acquitted by CAS, said that admission to the 2018 Games would be a victory for her.

“I earned a medal with my honest work. When I learned about today's decision, happiness did not decrease or increase. Everything was as it should be. It will be a victory if we are admitted to the Olympic Games. We will now wait to see how everything will be decided on admission. That's when we'll be happy. Now the state is already such that there are no emotions. We are waiting for how everything will be according to the situation," she said.

“The biggest frustration is that it’s okay to say the reason, and we could fight, file appeals, etc. And we don’t know the reason at all, because of what. They just didn’t invite them to the Olympic Games, you see, you know how they invited someone to play football in the yard, but they didn’t invite us, ”quotes Maxim Tsvetkov, world and European champion in biathlon.

However, not all athletes are negative. Sochi 2014 Olympic champion in biathlon, world champion Anton Shipulin believes that life goes on. “I want all the athletes and all the fans to unite at this moment and understand that we still have everything ahead, and we, Russia, are a strong country, a strong power,” he said.

Athlete Natalia Matveeva found out about the CAS decision during training:

Publication from Natalia Matveeva(@matveeva_natalia_rus) Feb 1, 2018 at 1:24 pm PST

Skeletonist Elena Nikitina, whose appeal was also satisfied by the court, noted that there is still justice: “The mood is fighting, as it was. Of course, we are very happy and waited for this decision - there is still justice. Of course, we are waiting for an invitation from the IOC, we ourselves, so to speak, asked for this holiday.”

Skier Alexei Petukhov admitted that he had a twofold state of mind from the news: “A little at a loss, I understand that everything is over, but the state is incomprehensible, twofold. It turns out that it is not clear with the Olympic Games, the IOC will certainly not allow it, and the list has been formed. But the fact that we will continue to prepare for the World Cup is a positive decision. With new forces in a new fight! Justice has triumphed, there are higher powers and the truth is above all filth. Now let those who spoke badly about us think, let them be ashamed. And we came out victorious, it’s great that the court heard us.”

According to him, the return of the Sochi results is primarily important for those athletes who took medals there. “And my 8th place, in principle, has no effect. As for the Olympic Games - 2018, it is unlikely that we will get there, the list there is not rubber. It will be hard to go there. As I understand it, a very small percentage of the possibility of such. I’m ready to go, I’m ready to fight, but it’s difficult to comment here, the situation is still unclear,” Petukhov added.

“This is great news that Tanya Ivanova and I were acquitted, justice has triumphed. Now we need to resolve the issues of including Ivanova, first of all, in the Olympic squad. Well, our coaching staff needs to be fully restored at the Olympics, because the athletes were found not guilty. We will continue to prepare and hope that we will all be given accreditation for the Olympics,” said Albert Demchenko, head coach of the Russian national luge team.

Recall that on Thursday CAS appealed 28 Russian athletes, annulling their lifelong suspension from participation in the Olympic Games, which was previously imposed on athletes by the IOC.

The athletes were suspended by the IOC following an investigation by a commission led by Denis Oswald, which was involved in rechecking doping samples from the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. The results of justified athletes at the Sochi Games have been restored.

28 athletes from the list of Russians banned for life from the Olympics were found clean and reinstated. But it's too early to celebrate victory.

How the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne has not yet burst or collapsed under a pile of cases of Russian athletes who are not allowed to the Olympics is incomprehensible to the mind. However, even if it collapsed, it definitely wouldn’t make it any easier for our athletes, because CAS at the moment looks like the only authority capable of restoring justice before the start of the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. If it doesn't work here, it won't work anywhere in the near future.

There are, of course, civil courts, but this is already a matter of strategy - decisions can be considered there for months and years - there is definitely no time before the Korean Games. Although, you must admit, even if in a couple of years a certain civil court finds the IOC or Richard McLaren and his commission guilty of the fact that the Russians did not go to the Olympics and will oblige them to pay substantial compensation in euros, this will be a good consolation. But for now, these are dreams, oh, dreams.

But what about in reality?

Almost fifty Russian athletes who were not allowed to participate in the Olympics following the investigations of the IOC commission led by Dennis Oswald. Yes, not just not admitted, but life-suspended! Behind the high-profile scandals with Shipulin or An, you might have forgotten that the list of suspects and, therefore, the accused included skiers with Legkov and Vylegzhanin, and skeletonists with Tretyakov and Nikitina, and bobsledder Kasyanov with overclockers, and luger Ivanova, and a number of skaters and hockey players - these are only those who have not yet completed their sports career and were preparing to compete in Pyeongchang. All of them have already disrupted the systematic preparation for the Olympics, but they retained the hope of performing there until the last.

All athletes suspended for life from the Games filed appeals with the CAS - they were first heard there. Hearings on the cases of Russian athletes in court took place both last week and this week. If the Russians spoke in Lausanne almost every day, then the main witness for the prosecution, Grigory Rodchenkov, appeared in court only once - on January 22. Although he appeared - the wrong definition, because Rodchenkov testified via video link, but his face was covered with an opaque screen, and his voice was changed. You and I can be as indignant as we like about such a strange procedure for interrogating the main and, by and large, the only witness for the prosecution, but only CAS could decide whether all this was fair.

Could Russian athletes, despite everything that has been done to them in recent months, count on justice in Lausanne? Oddly enough, yes, they could. In 2016, before the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, our athletes had not yet been deprived of medals and suspended for life, but they threatened not to let them go to Brazil. The most famous, of course, was the case of Yulia Efimova, who argued in court that she should not receive double punishment for the same offense, and CAS really sided with the athlete, allowing her to join the team a few days before the start of the Olympics. And this is just one case out of many.

Russian athletes, deprived of Sochi awards and not allowed to Pyeongchang, prepared thoroughly - all the procedural points that Western justice loves to pay attention to were observed, so the cases were considered strictly on the merits. Rodchenkov's testimony, scratches on the test tubes, elevated salt levels in the samples - all this was remembered in the second, third or fourth round. And we came to an unexpected conclusion...

The decision was made on 39 Russian athletes - and for all 39 the punishments were mitigated: at least a life-long disqualification was lifted. 11 athletes will miss the Pyeongchang Olympics (a full list of names can be found). But another 28 Russians are fully justified and restored in all rights. Firstly, we are talking about the removal of a lifetime disqualification from them. Secondly, they are not forbidden to speak at the Olympics in Pyeongchang. Thirdly, the medals of the Games in Sochi were returned to them. You can find the full list of these 28 lucky ones here.

News, 15:05 01.02.2018

CAS sends a signal to the IOC: experts comment on the decision of the court in Lausanne

Context

MOSCOW, Feb 1 - RAPSI, Diana Gutsul.

On Thursday, the CAS upheld 28 and partially upheld 11 of 39 complaints from Russian athletes suspended for life from the Olympic Games on suspicion of doping, the court said in a press release. The court considered each of the cases individually and fully satisfied the complaints of 28 athletes, recognizing the evidence collected in relation to them as insufficient. At the same time, CAS agreed with the allegations against 11 athletes, but decided to lift the life ban and limit themselves to a ban on participation in the upcoming games in Korea.

Not a single report

Lawyer Artem Patsev, who represents the interests of Russian athletes in court, believes that today's decision confirms the lack of support from independent arbitrators of the IOC approach.

“Apparently, the CAS arbitrators thereby call on the IOC to be guided by the fundamental principles of Olympism and the legal principles enshrined in the Olympic Charter when making decisions. This is such a clear and powerful signal from the highest authority that a free interpretation of the charter is unacceptable. I hope the IOC approach will change, and guys who are acquitted will receive an invitation to the games in an expedited manner and will be able to go there and perform," Patsev told RAPSI.

Lawyer Svetlana Gromadskaya recalls that when considering complaints, the court examined evidence in relation to each athlete, including the report of Grigory Rodchenkov (Director of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Anti-Doping Center" - approx. RAPSI). "Obviously, the evidence presented by the Russian side was enough to conclude that our athletes were not involved in the charges. Of course, this decision indicates a positive trend. I really hope that our athletes will still be in time for the games. The IOC's decision initially raised questions. It is good that it is not final, and there is a court that is guided by the principle of individual responsibility.Moreover, it raises the question of how, in general, the figure of Rodchenkov inspires confidence.The court is not bound only by his report and the McLaren report (Richard McLaren - approx. RAPSI), I'm sure now everyone has a chance to prove their innocence," Hromadska said.

Without guilt or punishment

Lawyer Maksim Rovinsky notes that the decision of the appellate court has nothing to do with whether there was a doping support system in Russia or not. “The court considers each case individually and the evidence on a case-by-case basis, so we see that the principle of collective responsibility in the Lausanne court did not find support, this is very important. And this suggests that all athletes who were sanctioned should try to appeal to the courts of sports jurisdiction. This is an example for our other athletes, filing appeals is not hopeless, "said the expert.

In turn, lawyer Aleksey Melnikov is convinced that the whole situation with the removal of Russian athletes from participation in competitions was clearly political in nature and, from the point of view of law, did not initially seem to be sufficiently justified.

“The arguments of sports organizations sounded extremely unconvincing from the point of view of the law. It was not about individual claims, but the collective imputation of guilt to a whole group of athletes, which is unacceptable in law, since the Latin principle “no guilt - no punishment” applies. full justification, the court considered it absolutely insufficient to simply mention someone somewhere. Sorry, but this is such a joke: “One thing is written on the fence, and there is firewood.” Evidence is specific documents, analyzes, or at least testimonies. And is it possible in this case to consider the testimony of one fugitive and offended official, who also organized everything himself, sufficient? (Rodchenkova - approx. RAPSI) I think they are extremely insufficient. His testimony is generalizing, he speaks about "all" and "many". In the case of partial satisfaction of complaints, I think that the principle of equality was violated. It turned out that Canadian or Norwegian athletes, who were once convicted of the same violation, now, after the expiration of the term, will be able to participate in the games, and Russian athletes are deprived of this right for life? This is a discriminatory approach based on nationality, it is unacceptable. The court is for that and the court is to see if there is a situation when an athlete maliciously uses doping, or a situation where a substance is found in the tests, but the substance entered the athlete’s body by accident, ”Melnikov explained.

According to the expert, the decision of the court in Lausanne is legal, and therefore it can be welcomed. "This confirms that not everyone is ready to spit on the law just to please the political situation," Melnikov concluded.

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The decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne on the complaints of Russian athletes is a clear signal to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) about the inadmissibility of a free interpretation of the charter, according to experts interviewed by RAPSI.

15:05 01.02.2018

How will it look like:

The decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne on the complaints of Russian athletes is a clear signal to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) about the inadmissibility of a free interpretation of the charter, according to experts interviewed by RAPSI.

The main news that not only our athletes, but also fans, and even people who are far from sports have been waiting for, came today from the International Court of Arbitration. He fully justified 28 Russians, whom the IOC had previously suspended for life from the Olympics, deprived of the medals won in Sochi. Among them are our titled skiers Alexander Legkov and Maxim Vylegzhanin, skeletonists Alexander Tretyakov and Elena Nikitina, speed skater Olga Fatkulina. Sanctions were partially lifted from 11 more athletes: the life suspension was replaced by inadmissibility only for the next Olympics in South Korea. But will those who now have no complaints be able to go there? It's not all that simple here.

The Lausanne Court of Arbitration for Sport announced its decision in Pyeongchang. From today, for the duration of the Olympics, its mobile branch is starting to work there, which will consider the cases of athletes in an accelerated mode.

“The appeal is upheld. Sanctions canceled” – this line from the press release of the court means that most of our athletes accused by the IOC of manipulating doping samples are acquitted.

“In 28 cases, it was determined that the evidence collected was not sufficient to establish that the athletes had indeed committed anti-doping rule violations. We satisfied the appeals of 28 athletes, lifted their sanctions and restored their results of the 2014 Games in Sochi,” said CAS Secretary General Matthew Reeb.

Thus, the court did not accept the arguments of the IOC, which back in 2016 created two commissions that studied the data of Richard McLaren's investigation into doping in Russian sports. One of the commissions under the leadership of Denis Oswald was engaged in rechecking the doping samples of the participants in the Sochi Olympics. As a result, the IOC announced a life-long suspension from the Games of dozens of our athletes. 39 of them filed suits with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. To date, 28 people have won cases.

Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that the issue of participation of acquitted Russian athletes in the games in South Korea will be discussed with the International Olympic Committee. According to him, Russia "will continue the peaceful legal battle for the interests of our athletes." And the Prime Minister of Russia said the same thing today at a government meeting.

“We never doubted that our athletes absolutely deservedly received all those medals that were won in Sochi. It is good that the court fully confirmed this, proved their purity. This is very important from the point of view of the future of the athletes themselves and from the point of view of organizing work in elite sports in our country. It is necessary that fully rehabilitated athletes be able to take advantage of all the opportunities that are open to them as a result of this court decision. And we wish all our athletes great success at the Olympics in Korea,” Dmitry Medvedev said.

Sports lawyers consider the decision of the arbitration court only the beginning of a long journey to fully justify our athletes and the entire Russian team, which the IOC forced to compete at the Games in Korea not under the national flag.

“The guys who participate in the competitions themselves are, of course, ready and want to participate in the Olympic Games. Another thing is that back in January, the IOC repeatedly expressed its position, which boils down to the fact that the IOC does not see a direct connection between the issuance of invitations to the Olympic Games and the outcome of the proceedings on these complaints,” said sports lawyer Artem Patsev.

The reaction of the IOC itself to the decision of the court was predictable. The International Olympic Committee has already stated that it still does not consider our athletes innocent and does not exclude the possibility of continuing trials already in the Swiss tribunal.

“The CAS decision does not mean that 28 athletes will be invited to the Games. The absence of sanctions does not automatically confer the privilege of an invitation. In this context, it is also important to note that at his press conference, the CAS Secretary General insisted that the court's decision "does not mean that these 28 athletes are declared innocent," said International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams.

Nevertheless, our athletes, who have never been seen in violation of anti-doping rules, whose accusation was based only on the testimony of one witness who fled to the United States, the former head of the Russian Anti-Doping Laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov, do not hide their joy from such a decision of the Swiss Arbitration Court of Sport.

“Of course, I am very happy, glad that CAS made such a decision, that he listened to us, accepted our arguments, our facts and sorted out the situation. Because the Olympic medal in Sochi was returned to me, my good name. This is very important to me and I'm glad. I don’t know how the IOC will continue to act,” says skeletonist Alexander Tretyakov.

“That's probably all, this is the business of life, what I do. And when you are accused like that, it is, of course, very unpleasant, and everything collapses for you, and the road to the upcoming main starts is closed. Now it's all back to square one. Let's hope that we will still get to these Olympic Games,” said Elena Nikitina, bronze medalist of the 2014 Olympic Games in skeleton.

Alexander Tretyakov, the IOC is obliged to return the gold medal of the Sochi Games, his colleague Elena Nikitina - "bronze", and skier Nikita Kryukov - "silver".

“I am very glad that all this slander that poured on us, on me, she nevertheless stepped aside, and our best Olympic Games in Sochi, which were in 2014, and the country won, after all, we they proved to everyone that these were fair and correct games, ”said the athlete.

Thus, after the court decision, Russia regained not only the entire Olympic podium at the 50-kilometer ski race in Sochi, but also the first place in the unofficial team event of the 2014 Olympics, which the IOC tried so hard to deprive our country of.